


Olympus High: Next Generation

by Takara_Phoenix



Series: Nico's Olympus High [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Gods, Derek and Donny are BFFs, Fluff, M/M, Next Generation, Nicercy - Freeform, Nicercy's kids, Nicercy's kids get the spotlight, Shounen-ai, Slash, a little angsty, cheerleading coach!Silena, football coach!Beckendorf, h/c, hockey coach!Luke, jock!Sander, loner!Donny, principal!Octavian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2014-07-24
Packaged: 2018-02-10 05:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2012673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takara_Phoenix/pseuds/Takara_Phoenix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When their oldest son Donny starts pulling back and acting like a lone wolf, Percy and Nico grow concerned. They want to help, but they don't know how.<br/>But Percy remembers how Olympus High helped him when he had been a complicated teenager, so they enroll Donny at their old high school, where he meets a lot of new people, some of them the children of other former students. Like Sander Rodriguez, the son of Chris and Clarisse. And oh yes, that jock even makes Donny want to watch sports.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Olympus High: Next Generation

Title: Olympus High: Next Generation – How Derek Fixed Donny's Life

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; AU

Disclaimer : All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, h/c, a little angst, high school AU, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Sander/Donny

Side Pairings: Nico/Percy, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Luke/Octavian, Trend/Derek/Sam, Herc/Thea, Loki/Blance

Own Characters of the Next Generation :

_ Nicercy _ : Bianca Maria di Angelo, Hades Poseidon di Angelo

_ Chrisse _ : Chrysander Rodriguez, Calandra Rodriguez

_ Jayna _ : Hercules Grace

_ Frazeleo _ : Nicole Esperanza Zhang

_ Pipabeth _ : Theadora Tiphane Chase

Own Characters : Derek Rhys, Samuel Raser, Trend Austin, Marshall Mikaelson, Loki Murdock, Charles Smith, Victor Kruger, Erik Anderson, Jonas Meyer, Leroy Jones, Takara Thompson, Blance Lamour, Joanna Foxx, Rainbow Jordan, Melissa Montgomery, Stella Ribeiro, Phylicia Rosenberg, Arielle Schuster, Erika Schneider, Sedanur Aykan

Horses : Blackjack, Tempest, Arion, Shadowchaser, Trickster, Nightowl, Fighter, Rush

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Luke Castellan, Octavian Simmons, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf

Summary: Mortal AU (sequel to Welcome to Olympus High) – Donny is a shy outsider and his parents, Percy and Nico think that Olympus High could help Donny's social issues. What they hadn't anticipated was for Donny to fall head over heels for the quarterback, Sander Rodriguez.

 

**Olympus High: Next Generation**

_ How Derek Fixed Donny's Life _

 

Donny di Angelo had always been a scaredy-cat. If you'd ask his big sister Bianca Maria, she would only roll her eyes affectionately and nod. The problem was less that he was scared, but what he was scared of. His parents would have been able to deal with him being afraid of heights or spiders or large, black dogs. But Donny actually used to have pet spiders when he was small – or at least he named every spider he found in the house and petted it all the time. And he used to climb the highest trees even as a small child. Sometimes, they would find little Donny, curled together next to their giant, black pet-dog Mrs. O'Leary, sleeping peacefully. So no, the usual things didn't frighten him the least. Instead, it was something neither Percy nor his husband Nico could really relate to. Donny was afraid of people. Percy had always been easy going and attracted people like honey attracted flies, while Nico had been the most popular kid at school too. Both didn't understand why Donny didn't even _want_ to make friends. Instead, he spend all his time holed up at home. The only social contact he really had was with his siblings and parents. Don't get Percy wrong, he was eternally grateful that his darling son hadn't turned out to be as much of a trouble-magnet as he himself had been in his youth. Still, just a _little_ trouble would be nice, to show that Donny was actually _living_. It worried him immensely that his son was such a self-chosen loner.

Percy had done right with his life, meeting Nico in high school truly had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He got his act together, with the support of his new friends, and made plans for after his graduation. Plans he had managed to fulfill. He wanted to do something good, something for kids who were like he had been, so he had started a swimming team for troubled kids where they could just steam off their anger and energy instead of getting into trouble. Coach Percy di Angelo. Post marriage, that is. Because he got married to the most handsome lawyer in all of Los Angeles. Nico, who had become senior partner at his father's law firm, which by now went by the name  _Di Angelo & Sons_ . While Nico and his older brother Thanatos had joined their father's company, their sisters had chosen different paths.

Bianca had moved to Italy, together with Thalia. They had opened a small hotel together, one where Nico, Percy and their children spend about all of their holidays. Hazel and her boys did so too. She was still  _very_ happy with Leo and Frank, and with their kids. She had opened a jewelry store with Leo, she did the designs and he crafted the beautiful pieces, while Frank took care of the books and all that entailed ensuring his two lovers were happy and their shop was going well.

Now, even the holidays with his aunts, uncles and cousins didn't help making Donny more of a social guy. The boy rather spend the days in the stables of the small farm house hotel.

Now that Donny was supposed to go to high school, there really was only one option for Nico and Percy to send him to. The school both of them had attended, where they had met and made all the friends they still cherished, even twenty years after graduation. The school where their oldest child, Bianca Maria, was already going, together with her cousin Nicole Esperanza Zhang. Percy knew, or at least he wanted to believe, that this was the solution. Donny would be forced to share a room with someone, an apartment with three other guys and a bedroom with one. He'd have to attend at least one extracurricular activity. He would  _have_ to make friends. There was no way around it.

“Well, hasn't changed that much”, mused Percy with a soft smile as they entered the apartment.

There were two boys sitting on the couch, watching a football game. Both looked up startled as the three di Angelos entered. One was black-haired and with mischievous blue eyes, the other a blonde they knew all too well. Hercules Grace, the son of Jason and Reyna, two old friends.

“Hey, Mister and Mister di Angelo! Donny”, greeted Herc with a small grin. “That's Loki, my roommate. You have the left room, Donny. Your roommate is already in.”

Loki waved shortly at them before returning his attention back to the game. Percy smiled as he rested one calming hand on his son's shoulder, guiding him over to the bedroom. The bedroom where one bed was already occupied by two brunettes. One with slightly curled, shoulder-long hair and emerald-green eyes, the other with a peanut-colored mohawk and forest-green, soft eyes. The mohawked teen looked so happy he could burst as he hugged the life out of the other.

“I am so fucking glad you actually went here! I thought you'd attend some stupid high school in San Francisco! How did you make your parents agree to this place?”, rambled the mohawked teen.

“Well, there was a very loud and lasting argument between us, but I just had the better points”, replied the other, obviously amused by his friend's enthusiasm. “There is no way I'd let you have all the fun on your own here, Sammy. After all, the football team is certified to have the hottest guys.”

“This year is going to be so fucking awesome, Derek!”, exclaimed Sam giddily. “But don't sleep with _all_ my teammates, please? That would be kind of awkward for me then...”

The expression on Derek's face obviously said that he would be quite content just sleeping with Sam and not the rest of the team. Percy felt kind of bad for the boy, so he decided to make himself known to them by placing Donny's suitcase on the ground, rather loudly. Both brunettes bolted apart and stared at them in surprised embarrassment. Sam flushed and ruffled his mohawk as he slowly stood. Derek did not look pleased that someone interrupted his time with Sam. Nico was not pleased at all that Donny was obviously sharing his room with a horny gay boy – he did not need any sexual love drama for his little boy. He was also not pleased that Donny still hadn't said a word. Elbowing his son, he glared down at the half-Italian wordlessly.

“Uhm, hi. I'm Donny. Your... roommate. The two embarrassing adults are my dads.”

“Huh. Cool. Having two dads must be awesome”, mused Derek curiously. “I'm Derek. That's Sam.”

“And Sam will be gone now, because he feels embarrassed enough”, muttered the mohawked teen and headed out with a last wave into their general direction. “See you at dinner, Der.”

Nico watched the other boy go and then returned his gaze to Derek. From there on, it swept over to Percy, quizzically. But his wonderful husband just nodded and intervened their fingers.

“Listen, Donny. This is the best school we have in the whole US”, started Percy, grabbing his son by the shoulders. “Look, you'll get settled now and then comes dinner. You can spend it with your cousin and sister, if that makes you more comfortably. And then you'll have plenty of time to chose a club. Don't look at me like that, Donny. The clubs are great. There's a riding club, okay?”

At that, the shy boy perked up a little at least. Still, he threw himself at his parents and hugged them as tight as possible, burying his face in the crook of Percy's neck. Percy and Nico wrapped their arms protectively around their son, kissing his cheeks.

“You're going to be fine, bambino”, promised Nico softly. “And if not, you can always go to Octavian. I mean, Principal Castellan. He's a friend of ours, he'll be able to help, I'm sure.”

“Okay”, mumbled Donny against Percy's hair. “B—But if I _really_ don't like it, you will let me go home with you again for Christmas and I can stay home, right?”

It had been the only thing to get Donny into the car at all. An honest promise that if he wouldn't like it by the time him and Bianca Maria would return home for Christmas, then he didn't have to go back to Olympus High after the break and could enroll in a non boarding school close by. Nico had been very much against that deal, but Percy was so confident that Donny would learn to love Olympus High, just like he himself had as a teen. And if there was one thing Nico couldn't fight, it was Percy and his large, sea-green eyes. The Italian man nodded reluctantly.

“As we promised. But you have to make an effort. If you just spend all day in here...”, sighed Nico.

He didn't even feel up to finishing the sentence. It was an argument they were having since Donny was four and cried on the playground until Percy brought him back home. Donny nodded reluctantly, knowing that if not, his parents would just leave him here for good.

“I'll miss you”, whispered Donny and hugged them both once more.

 

/break\

 

He had really taken his time unpacking his things. And he had done his best to avoid talking to Derek. The boy with his inquisitive gaze kind of gave him the creeps. Still, once dinner came around he was more or less forced to leave the sanctuary of the bedroom. He trailed after Herc, Loki and Derek, following them to the dining hall. Once inside, he immediately spotted his big sister – sitting together with a bunch of boys and her best friend Cally Rodriguez. Smiling at least a little, he attached himself to her side. She returned his smile and ruffled his hair.

“How's the room, pipsqueak?”, asked Bianca Maria teasingly.

But Donny was a little too distracted by the boy opposite him, because next to Cally Rodriguez sat her twin brother Sander. Sander, the quarterback – as he had been introduced when they first met upon arrival at the school. The guy was incredibly handsome, with purposely messy, sand-brown hair and mischievous hazelnut-brown eyes. A scar was running through his right eyebrow, but not even that managed to mar the picture of male perfection that was Sander Rodriguez. Donny licked his lips, to make sure he hadn't drooled. Flushing a bit, he tried to hide behind his sister. Much to Donny's surprise did his roommate take the seat right next to him. Or, well, it came as a surprise until Donny noticed the mohawked teen on Sander's other side. Sam, if he remembered correctly. That boy Derek had been hugging so furiously when Donny had first arrived. Was he something like Derek's boyfriend maybe? Well, he was cute, so Donny could relate, but still this Sam was no Sander. Which brought Donny back to the blushing and hiding.

“Oh!”, exclaimed Sander, startling Donny a little. “Donny!”

“Y—Yes?”, asked Donny shyly, expecting more.

“Huh?”, blinked Sander confused. “Oh. No, nothing. I'm just happy to see you.”

“Why?”, asked Donny confused and stunned.

“You're Bia's brother and Bia is like my sister's best friend so I hear her talking about you all the time and I kinda got curious what you're really like”, explained Sander. “So, I'm happy you're here.”

“R—Really...?”, whispered Donny unsure, blushing a little.

“Sure”, nodded Sander with a broad grin. “I mean, since our sisters are best friends and our moms are friends, we are genetically meant to get along too, right?”

Donny had to smile a little at that. This Sander wasn't just very handsome, he was also very adorable in his naive way. Maybe Sander was right, maybe they could get along.

“Your mom? But didn't you get here with your dads?”, asked Derek next to Donny intrigued.

“Well, one of my dads, Percy, he's really more of a mom to us so we always call him mom. It's less confusing than calling both of them dad”, shrugged Donny uncomfortably.

Derek just nodded, seemingly already losing his interest in the conversation because his eyes turned back to staring at the brightly smiling Sam opposite him. The mohawked brunette was entertaining not just Derek, but also Sander and a tall, handsome blonde sitting on Sam's other side and a bulky, dark-skinned guy next to Derek. Donny wanted to pay attention to what Bianca was talking about with the girls surrounding her, but for the first time he actually found himself interested in what others were talking. May it be the overly enthusiastic behavior of the mohawked boy, or the adorable way Sander obediently listened to Sam and nodded all the time in agreement. Still, no. He didn't want anything to do with others. Like the cute, little brother he was, he gave Bianca Maria his whole attention. The beautiful half-Italian girl had her long, black curls braided, hanging over her shoulder. In an excited habit she was playing with the braid while talking to Cally Rodriguez.

“What are you talking about?”, asked Donny softly.

“We're in the martial arts club both, so we're in the middle of planning our presentation”, replied his sister with a slight smile, ruffling her brother's curls. “See, every club has to introduce themselves to the freshmen and newbies, so they can chose which extracurricular activity they want.”

“And... do we all _have_ to get into a club?”, asked Donny uncomfortably, shifting some.

“Damn it, runt, can you look any more like a kicked puppy?”, snorted Cally. “Yes, everyone has to join a club. What are you, a hermit? Clubs mean more time to spend with your friends.”

“Yeah, my brother isn't all that much into that concept”, sighed Bianca Maria.

“The concept of clubs?”, asked Cally a little confused.

“The concept of friendship”, corrected Bianca Maria with a shake of her head.

“Little weirdo you got there”, snorted Cally with one cocked eyebrow.

 

/break\

 

Donny laid wide awake, staring up at the ceiling. This was unsettling, he couldn't sleep. Turning his head slightly, he noticed that Derek was still awake too. And he was jerking of, quite vigorously so.

“Sa—am”, moaned Derek so softly it was barely audible as he came and collapsed on his bed.

“Finished?”, asked Donny with a vibrant blush, looking at his roommate.

Derek jerked up and stared over at him bewildered. “Fuck. Why are you _awake_? It's been like two hours since you said you'd like to go to sleep! I thought I waited long enough for you to actually be asleep! What is _wrong_ with you? You let me jerk off and don't even say something, damn it!”

“I... didn't want to interrupt you”, mumbled Donny embarrassed. “It's not like I've ever been in such a situation before. I... figured I'd just let you... uhm... finish, you know...”

“You are _so_ weird”, snorted Derek and cleaned himself up with some tissues. “Fuck.”

“Sorry”, sighed Donny, turning onto his side to face Derek. “So... is Sam like... your boyfriend?”

“He's everything I want”, replied Derek nonchalantly, shrugged. “But no, he's not my boyfriend. Not yet, anyway. But he'll be. I have a ten year plan and then he'll be my husband, well, housewife.”

“Okay”, nodded Donny slowly, blinking a couple of times. “You're quite determined then, huh?”

“I guess”, shrugged Derek amused, also turning to face Donny. “What about you? Why are you still awake anyway? I mean, shouldn't you be tired or something? Or did you want to jerk off too? Because I can just leave. Take a shower, give you some privacy and all.”

“N—No, I don't want to jerk off”, muttered Donny and blushed brightly. “I just... I can't sleep.”

“Okay, humor me. Why not?”, asked Derek, propping himself up on his elbows.

“It's... it's childish...”, mumbled Donny embarrassed, ruffling his hair.

“Jeez, just tell me”, grunted Derek and rolled his eyes. “You just watched me jerking off. I think you owe me a little embarrassment there. Because that was really not cool of you.”

“Okay, okay”, Donny admitted defeat, sighing deeply. “So... I... Normally, at home, mom would curl together with me in front of the fireplace, we'd drink a hot chocolate and talk about our days before going to bed. He started doing that because he worried about me not, well, not having any friends. I just... I think I can't sleep without that, I'm so used to it by now...”

Derek heaved a long suffering sigh and stood. “Come along then.”

Donny frowned confused, but he still obediently trotted after the brunette. It wasn't as though he had anything else to do. So it turned out they had a small kitchen-counter in their shared room between their bedroom and the bedroom of Loki an Herc. Sitting down on top of the counter, Donny observed curiously how Derek prepared two cups of hot chocolate. Once he was finished, he grabbed both cups and walked over to the couches, motioning for Donny to follow him.

“Okay, now tell uncle Derek about your day”, prompted Derek, sipping on his chocolate.

“B—But I don't even know you”, objected Donny with a frown.

“So what?”, shrugged Derek bored. “I can't exactly say that you're the most interesting thing ever, but for now you'll be good entertainment. And you said you need a hot chocolate and to talk about your sorrows and feelings, or something like that. Whatever. I always get a little antsy after jerking off, so tell me a bedtime story so I can get back to sleep too.”

Donny stared at the strange boy openly. Derek was very straight-forward. Nothing Donny was used to. It was so unusual, Donny had no idea how to handle this. Obviously Derek didn't take no for an answer. And the hot chocolate really tasted amazing. Curling up next to Derek, Donny frowned.

“I don't want to be here...”, started Donny softly. “I'm not... I don't like _people_. And here are so many of them. All those strangers. I just... I just want to be home with mom and dad...”

“You are a real little mommy's boy”, snorted Derek unimpressed. “Look, this school, it's pretty neat. I begged my parents for months to enroll me here. I've been visiting Sammy every weekend. They have some awesome clubs here and the jocks are hot. Though you'll stay away from Sammy, he's mine. Otherwise we'll have a problem with each other, you hear me?”

“Okay”, agreed Donny obediently. “I have no intentions toward him anyway.”

“Good”, nodded Derek pleased. “Now, we have to figure out where you fit in.”

“I don't”, huffed Donny with a frown. “That's my thing. I don't fit in.”

“Oh please”, snorted Derek annoyed and rolled his eyes. “That's total bullshit. Now tell me, what are you good at? What do you enjoy? Aside from being a pouty brat, obviously.”

Donny stared at the other boy scandalized. No one had ever called him  _that_ before. Percy and Nico always coddled him. Well, maybe that was the problem, he supposed. He never had someone talking back at him like that. Sighing in defeat, Donny gulped down more chocolate.

“I like swimming. And riding. Horses are _so_ much better than people”, sighed Donny.

“Wow, you're a little miss sunshine”, snorted Derek unimpressed. “Okay. Riding it is then. Don't worry, we'll find a club for you. There surely is someone around in this school who shares some interests with you. Now, I'm tired and I plan on having a nice dream about Sammy...”

“But no more jerking off!”, yelped Donny wide-eyed.

Derek just rolled his eyes. “It's a  _harmless_ dream. Just him in an apron, waiting for me to come home from work, taking care of our five children and all.”

“You are _really_ determined”, grunted Donny and blinked a couple of times.

Together, they went back to their room, where they nearly instantly fell asleep. And while Derek dreamed of a housewife version of Sam and their five children, Donny dreamed of abs and messy, brown hair and a dopey, adorable smile and that scar above a hazel eye.

 

/Monday\

 

Derek was more than just determined, because the brunette was dragging Donny around a hall full of tables and teenagers who tried to convince them that their cause was the best. Every club had an own decorated table and all newbies were pushing through the hall, taking greedy looks at everything. Donny was highly uncomfortable. He kept frantically looking around for his sister, to hide behind her, but in the mass of people he couldn't find her. So all he could do was follow Derek.

“W—Where are we going?”, whispered Donny. “Can't we just return to our room.”

And they reached their destination. Donny should have known that the table with a broadly grinning Sam sitting on top of it could be Derek's only destination. For only having known the guy less than a day, Donny already had a pretty good impression of him. Next to Sam sat the same blonde like last night at dinner, listening obediently to every word Sam said. Much to Donny's delight however, there was also Sander sitting on the table right next to it, facing Sam and also listening. Whoever that mohawked boy was, he seemed to really capture his audience's attention when he spoke.

“Hello, cutie pie!”, interrupted Derek and pushed forward to hug Sam tightly.

“Der! Please tell me you came to sign up”, pleaded Sam with large, begging kitten eyes.

Derek looked uncomfortable for a second (and Donny noticed how the blonde on Sam's other side looked victorious at that). “I came to sign my roommate up. You know I'm not really into horses.”

“Oh...”, nodded Sam with a crestfallen look before turning to Donny. “Hey. I'm Sam Raser, captain of the riding club. So... I assume you like horses if Derek dragged you here?”

“I love horses!”, exclaimed Donny giddily, his eyes sparkling.

Sander struggled to get through the other guys – most likely jocks, by the looks of it – to join them at that. “You'll sign up? Yes? Please! Then we can ride together. Trickster is the most awesome horse ever. But I'm sure we'll find a nice one for you too.”

Donny blushed slightly and nodded reluctantly. So either he could have a horse or his solitude? But he loved riding. Though was it really worth joining a club? Then again, he seemingly had to join one of those. So why not the one where he got to sit on a horse, alone? Riding wasn't the most social thing ever, this could be his best solution. Reluctantly taking the sheet of paper, he scanned through the names that were already written on it, determined to not to this if there was already a large mass of people signed in. He would not join a club with too many strangers in it.

Sam Raser

Sander Rodriguez

Hercules Grace

Theadora T. Chase

Nicole Esperanza Zhang

Trend Austin

Bianca Maria di Angelo

Oh. His big sister was in this club too? And his cousin Nico? Theadora was someone he briefly knew too – the daughter of two old friends of his mom. This sounded bearable. Slowly taking the pen, he hastily added his own name to the list. Let's see if he was going to regret that.

“Is there something else you're interested in? Oh! Oh! Do you want to join the football team?”, asked Sander, giddy to help. “Those are Vic, Chuck, Marshall, Trend, Herc and Loki! They're in the team too! I'm the captain. I was co-captain last year, but our old captain graduated.”

Sander was eager. It was the perfect word to describe him. The brunette hastily pointed respectively at the boys surrounding the table – a tall-grown brunette with sun-kissed skin, a broad-shouldered blonde, a black-skinned hunk, the blonde who was still standing next to Sam and of course Herc and Loki, the two boys Donny was sharing the apartment with. They were all muscular, handsome and easy to drool over. They were also very much out of his league. Donny would not dare to compete with any of them. He was scrawny, small, even petite. This was not a sport for him.

“No offense to your sense in teammate scouting, Sander, but I think Donny is more fit for the cheerleaders than the football team”, laughed Derek amused.

He was waving his hand indicatively toward the table right opposite the one of the football team. There was a blonde-dyed Brazilian girl, with a vibe as though she earned the place, surrounded by five other girls who were no the less pretty than her.

“That's Stella, she's a first year too but she basically declared herself captain of the cheerleaders yesterday already”, informed Loki them casually as he too stepped up to lean against the front of the table. “What? I know stuff about the cheerleaders. My girlfriend is a cheerleader. Blance.”

He haved shortly at an albino girl next to Stella, who only acknowledged him with a short nod. The others were a punk-girl with at least six different colors in her hair, a purple-dyed girl, a black-skinned girl and a native American one. The last one Donny knew, that was Thea Chase.

“And your best gal pal is a cheerleader too”, snorted Herc, rolling his eyes and pointing at the purple-haired one. “Kara. Oh, and your handsome roommate's beautiful girlfriend.”

He adopted a dopey look as he stared over at Thea Chase dreamily. Donny had to giggle a little at that. But Derek look a bit annoyed, rolling his eyes and hopping off the table.

“Come on, di Angelo. We have other places to be too”, ordered Derek bossily.

He snapped his fingers and sashayed over to the cheerleader table. Without his consent, Donny found himself following the other obediently. Stella looked them up critically before smiling brilliantly and clapping her hands. Thea rolled her eyes, her arms crossed. At least until she recognized Donny. Yelping excitedly, she rushed over to hug him.

“Donny! I haven't seen you in ages!”, exclaimed Thea giddily.

They used to be best friends as little kids, well, before Thea's mothers had moved away, following Piper's job. He had to smile despite himself, because Thea was awesome. She had always been the only non family member he really liked. So he returned the hug as passionately.

“Did you come to sign up?”, asked Thea excitedly. “Those are some of my teammates – Stella, our team-captain, Kara, Blance, Dash and Joe. You would totally fit in with us!”

Dash was the punk-girl and Joe the dark-skinned one. Donny's head started to ache from all the names others tried to force into it. He didn't even like people, he didn't want to know all those strangers' names. Much to his horror, Derek already had the pen in his hand and was signing up.

“Should I add your name too or do you want to sign it yourself?”, asked Derek.

“I am _not_ going to be a cheerleader!”, exclaimed Donny with distaste in his voice.

“Wow. Thanks a lot for that”, snorted Stella with a leveled glare.

“I—I'm sorry”, stuttered Donny embarrassed and remembered that yes, his bad people-skills was part of the reason why he hated being with people and interacting with them. “I didn't mean it like that. I just... I'm a _guy_. I'm not going to wear a skirt. Most call me girly enough as it is!”

Derek cocked one unimpressed eyebrow and straightened again. Waving the girls off, he linked arms with Donny and led the way once more. Donny stared at him unsure.

“Honey, this isn't about wearing skirts or being girly. This is about getting laid.”

“W—What?”, stuttered Donny and blushed the most furious red.

Derek deadpanned, staring at him ridiculed. “Really? Come on. I want Sam. I want to screw him in every position ever invented. He's the half-back now. And jocks like always hook up with cheerleaders. So if I join the cheerleaders, I  _will_ get him. You keep staring cross-eyed at the quarterback, join the cheerleaders. It'll increase your chances of getting laid by him.”

“I don't want to get laid by him!”, hissed Donny, faltering a little when Derek gave him another deadpanned glare. “Okay, I do. But not just that! I think I'd like to go on a date with him...”

“Huh. That's a social thing. Doesn't the mere concept scare you?”, asked Derek mockingly.

“Shut up”, huffed Donny with a pout. “Where are we going anyway?”

“I figured you'd like to see your sister. You've been looking claustrophobic since entering.”

Donny's face lit up when he saw her – his big sister. The one that had protected him from bullies since the playground, the one who always listened to him and always comforted him, even when mom and dad were at work or busy. Bianca Maria smiled kindly at him and waved him over.

“Hey, fratello”, said Bianca Maria and pulled Donny into a hug, kissing his forehead. “How was your first night away from mamma and papà? Could you sleep at all?”

“Yeah”, nodded Donny, muffled by the curls of his sister. “I actually slept well.”

“Good”, smiled his big sister relieved. “Now come, I want you to meet my team.”

Donny heaved a sigh at the prospect of meeting even more strangers. There were Cally Rodriguez and his beloved big cousin Nico Zhang, along with two blonde guys and a black-haired girl.

“Those are Erik and Jonas and this is Rika”, introduced Bianca Maria. “Guys, this is my Donny.”

“Your Donny?”, laughed Rika amused, raising her eyebrows. “What's a Donny?”

“A Donny is that adorable, lovable baby brother you just have to cuddle”, smiled the half-Italian.

She ruffled Donny's curls, as she always did when cooing over his adorableness. Donny blushed and the other members of the martial arts club snickered. One more reason why Donny disliked people and being with them. Turning pleading eyes on Derek, he hoped he'd get out soon. Which was a shocking thing too, that he would turn to a stranger to get away from his sister.

“Well, come along, Donny, I just saw something that caught my fancy”, ordered Derek.

“Uhm, well, I guess I have to go, Bia?”, shrugged Donny, feigning helplessness.

“I'm glad you made a friend”, smiled Bianca Maria, ruffling his hair once more.

Donny wanted to protest to that – he didn't even know Derek properly, he was  _not_ friends with the other guy! But Derek already stared at him, waiting. So Donny hastily ran after him.

“Where are we going this time?”, asked Donny unsure.

“I just saw something interesting!”, grinned Derek, motioning to a green table, decorated with flowers. “This looks sweet. So we're going to check it out and since you're my new accessory, you'll obviously come along. Oh, we need to go shopping so your clothes go along well with mine.”

“We're wearing _school_ _uniforms_ ”, interjected Donny skeptically.

“Yeah, but not on the weekends”, huffed Derek and rolled his eyes. “When we can leave this place and have a blast, we got to look our best so we can properly seduce our jocks. Obviously.”

“Obviously”, nodded Donny dumbfounded.

“Hello, ladies. What do you have to offer?”, asked Derek once they reached the table.

The two girls – a petite brunette and a black-haired one – looked up at them, one shy the other skeptical. The brunette smiled at them shyly, pointing up at the banner saying  _Gardening Club_ .

“Oh”, nodded Donny, growing a little eager. “A gardening club? You mean this place has a garden?”

“Yeah, it does. I don't think there is anything this school doesn't have”, snorted the black-haired girl amused. “I'm Melissa Montgomery, big boss. This is my minion, Phyl. We have a large flower garden and we grow strawberries and such. So if you like spending time in the sun and with greenery, sign up. We're planning to plant the school's logo on the front lawn with tulips.”

Donny startled a little when his hand brushed Derek's as both boys lunged for the pen at the same moment. So there was something they had in common after all. How shocking.

 

/Tuesday\

 

The first proper school day ended with Donny collapsing on his bed. Monday had basically been a routine of introducing himself and listening to others introducing themselves, but today, the teachers started shoving knowledge down their throats. And the teachers were exhausting, all those people he didn't know. He hated exchanging pleasantries and he hated small talk. He loved being with his family because he could be himself around them, but with strangers, there was always this pretending and it was so straining. And that was not the only straining thing. He had spend the last two hours testing the school's pool. Groaning a little, Donny buried his face in the pillow.

“Hello, little Miss Sunshine”, snorted Derek amused as he poked his head into the bedroom.

“Leave me alone”, muttered Donny. “I need at least six hours alone-time to recharge.”

“Yeah, not going to happen”, grunted Derek. “Get up. You'll come to training with me.”

“Training?”, questioned Donny, lifting his head some.

“Yep. Cheerleading training. No, you don't have to wear a skirt. But the cheerleaders and the jocks have training at the same time, so if you come along, you can drool over Sander sweating. Also, you'll be my moral support since we have to go through try outs before we can join.”

Donny perked up some at that, staring at the other boy curiously. “Okay. But only for support.”

Derek smirked at him knowingly as he led the way. Donny hastily got up and followed Derek out of the apartment and toward the sports field. There were half-naked, sweaty guys, doing sit ups and other things that Donny could not name – he really had never been one to appreciate sport. But seeing Sander's sweat-glistering sixpack, Donny surely started to appreciate sport.

“Donny-honey, come here. You're my moral support. Sander doesn't need moral support.”

Flushing embarrassed, Donny turned his attention toward Derek again. The boy in the  _very_ short and tight shorts – at least no skirt – looked even a little nervous, which didn't look like a regular emotion on his face. Stella, Blance and Thea sat at a table, looking critical. The other girls from yesterday were now on Derek's side of things, looking as nervous. Dash was leaning against the table, whispering with Thea, most likely getting some last minute tips from the older girl. Joe and Kara however were talking with Donny's cousin Nico, who was sitting on the bleachers, smiling. Donny decided to join his cousin. Nico looked pleased when she saw him, nudging him.

“Anyway, you two go now”, ushered Nico with a smile. “I wish you luck.”

Joe smiled brightly at that before glaring over at her competitor. And Donny had the inkling of a feeling that they weren't just competing for a place on the cheerleading team.

“So, you're not in for the skirt?”, asked Donny with a grin.

“Fuck no”, snorted Nico and shook her head. “But my friends are. So I gotta support them. You?”

“My roommate forced me to come along and he promised me hot guys”, replied Donny.

The Latina snorted amused and shook her head. “So, how is uncle Nico doing?”

“Fine, but he is disappointed that your mom and her boys don't come over more often”, smiled Donny. “I think he misses spending more time with aunt Hazel. How are your parents?”

“I think they can't wait until my siblings are old enough to be shipped off here too”, laughed Nico.

“Hey, little di Angelo. Did you come to support Der too?”

Donny and Nico looked over to the two grinning and sweaty jocks that just sat down on the row behind them. Okay, so Derek did have taste, Donny had to hand him that. Sam's body was delicious and he had a tattoo on his upper arm – tattoos were _hot_. But even that hot deliciousness paled compared to the boy sitting next to Sam. Broader shoulders, a bit taller, a little more defined.

“Uhm, yes Sam”, nodded Donny in reply before turning to the other boy. “Hi, Sander.”

“Hi, Donny”, smiled Sander brightly. “Too bad you're not trying out, I'm sure you'd rock this.”

“T—Thanks”, stuttered Donny and flushed brightly.

“Anyway, San and I wanted to tell you something”, grunted Sam. “Riding club's first meeting is on Friday, after school. If you don't know where the stables are, just ask, we can pick you up and go there together instead. Since you're the only new kid, we'll introduce the horses to you and you can chose a companion yourself. Let's see how that works out. Oh! Der! DEREK!”

The mohawked boy interrupted himself when Derek walked out onto the field, looking more confident now that he spotted Sam on the bleachers. He gave a small smile and waved them.

“Okay, we'll start simple. Just show us what you got”, stated the beautiful blonde coach.

Coach Silena Beckendorf smiled encouragingly at Derek as she joined the three cheerleaders at the table, sitting down in the middle and shushing Stella away. The Brazilian girl did not look pleased.

“She's a first year, she can't just up and join and declare herself captain, even though chances are more than high that that will happen. She's been on plenty competitions already and won them all”, explained Nico. “What? Kara and Joe had been complaining about it nonstop since yesterday.”

Despite himself, Donny actually watched with growing anticipating, rooting for Derek and hoping the other boy would get in. This was weird, he normally really didn't care what someone he didn't know did. Thea, yes, his family, absolutely, but Derek? He didn't even know the guy. Still, in the end all worry had been in vein, because Derek was _amazing_. Sam behind Donny jumped up in cheers, his hands on Donny's shoulders and shaking him a little in a 'Didn't I tell you?'-way. Donny didn't like it when strangers touched him, but he was so euphoric for Derek's sake, he just laughed.

“Now, girls, if you spend enough time ogling the cheerleaders, mind getting back to training?”

Sander and Sam jumped wide-eyed and stared guiltily at their coach. Charles Beckendorf had one eyebrow cocked in amusement, strong arms crossed over his chest as he stared at them.

“Sorry, coach”, mumbled Sander guiltily, looking like a kicked puppy.

“Oh please, you spend enough time ogling the cheerleaders too in your youth. You married one!”, teased Sam with a broad grin as he dashed past Coach Beckendorf.

The dark-skinned man turned to smile at his wife, who enthusiastically waved back where she sat between her cheerleaders congratulating Derek on making the team. Donny grinned slightly at that. This was the kind of love he wanted too, the one his parents shared and the one those two obviously shared. When even when you saw each other nearly the whole day, you still had to smile happily when seeing your partner after a period of separation. His mom always jumped his dad when he got back from work, even though they often met up for lunch.

“I did it, I did it, I did it!”, chanted Derek as he threw himself at Donny, nearly suffocating him.

“Yeah, you did”, grinned Donny softly, hugging back and whispering. “And Sam saw it.”

The brunette in his arms blushed slightly and hit him playfully. “Don't tease, di Angelo.”

Donny just laughed airily and sat back down.

 

/Wednesday\

 

Wednesday was the meeting of the Gardening Club. There were a lot of kids. Then again, planting some stuff is not as exhausting or time-consuming like Drama Club or the football team. Derek took pity on Donny and pulled him away from all the strangers to a more secluded area of the garden.

“Thanks”, mumbled Donny relieved as they sat down and started uprooting weed.

“No problem, Mister Social Anxiety”, snorted Derek and rolled his eyes. “We have to work on that though. It's getting embarrassing, really. I mean, people aren't dangerous or stuff.”

“Right. That's why we don't need the police, prisons and the law, because everybody is simply lovely to one another”, deadpanned Donny with a roll of his eyes of his own.

“But not _everybody_ is a criminal!”, huffed Derek annoyed. “Okay, that's it. I have a plan.”

“What plan?”, asked Donny, disliking the gleam in Derek's eyes a great deal.

“You'll see”, smirked Derek. “After we're finished here.”

After they were finished there turned out to be late. Late enough for Derek to know that they wouldn't find who he was looking for in the offices. So he lead Donny toward the private quarters of the teachers, knowing full well that they were not meant to be there. Donny's eyes widened comically when they reached the end of the floor, with the most pompous door, labeled as _Principal_. What in the world was Derek up to?! The one opening the door was not the principal. Judging by the clothes, it was another coach – and really, how many of those did this school have?

“Yes?”, grunted the blonde man with a scar on his face. “This better be good, brats.”

“Coach Castellan, this is my friend, Donny di Angelo, we just wanted to make an appointment with your daughter”, smiled Derek brightly, looking creepily innocent. “Best would be tomorrow morning right away, my friend here has _many_ issues.”

Coach Castellan heaved a long suffering sigh before turning his back on them. “Danny? Come here, darling. I don't have the nerve to deal with this. They're all yours.”

A young woman with long, blonde curls but distinct oriental features stepped past the coach. “Yes?”

“This is Donny, Donny _really_ needs counseling. Are you free before first class tomorrow?”

Donny started to hate Derek a little. But the blonde woman just smiled at him charmingly.

“Of course I am. How about you swing by my office around seven?”, offered the woman.

“Send them away! Food is getting cold!”, called the coach from within, sounding annoyed.

Danny smiled apologetically at the two teens before closing the door and returning to the kitchen of the apartment where her fathers already sat and waited. The coach looked grumpy.

“Tavy, you will give those brats detention”, declared the scarred blonde.

“I'm not going to give them detention, Luke. They were just asking something”, chuckled Octavian.

“Papa? Why's daddy so... gloomy?”, questioned Danny as she sat down.

Octavian gave her a small smile before turning to his husband. “Yes, daddy, why so gloomy?”

He loved this, loved his family. Octavian and Luke had spend some time in London, but ultimately, their path had led them back to the US. While Octavian became a teacher, Luke became a relatively successful hockey coach, but once once the news of Principal Brunner's retirement reached Octavian's ears, he knew what he wanted. And Luke too wanted to settle some more – he had missed much from their daughter's life because of his travelings with the team. So when they realized that thanks to a miserable hockey coach, the school's team basically just sucked, Luke jumped in. And Danny, the loving pearl she was, had come along, as the school's counselor. Octavian smiled at their daughter. They had adopted the orphaned girl many years ago, raised her as their own and showered her with love. She was his pride and joy.

“I am not being gloomy”, protested Luke with something akin to a pout. “The team is just giving me a headache. Leroy Jones, he was not amused when I cut him back.”

“He's your best player”, pointed Octavian out, cocking one eyebrow. “Why would you cut him back? Wasn't he even the team captain last year?”

“He was”, nodded Luke gravely and emptied his wine glass in one go. “But I saw him harassing that kid from the football team, the one with the mohawk. And you know, I swore that with me as coach, there will be no more bullying at this school, not from the hockey team at least.”

Octavian smiled kindly at his husband, taking Luke's hand into his own and kissing it. Danny giggled slightly at that before concentrating back on her food.

 

/Thursday\

 

Donny was mildly hysteric as he paced in front of the counselor's office. He wasn't even sure why he was here. He could have just said it was a prank from Derek and he had nothing to do with it, didn't need counseling, the end. Still, something about Derek's bossy nature did not allow him to object, so here he was, waiting for Counselor Sedanur Aykan-Castellan.

“Good morning, Donny”, smiled the young woman as she came walking up behind him.

“Hello, Miss Aykan-Castellan”, replied Donny stiffly.

“You can call me Danny. Hah, Danny and Donny”, laughed Sedanur amused. “Come inside.”

She ushered him into the office and for the next hour, Donny actually found himself pouring his heart out. About missing his parents, not wanting to be at this school, feeling abandoned and betrayed by his mom and dad for sending him here in the first place, hating strangers and not knowing how to handle his overly bossy roommate. And Danny listened, nodded and smiled. It was weird, but in a way, Donny actually felt relieved once his rant ended.

 

/break\

 

Thursday evening was hectic in one of the dorms. Well, not entirely so. Trend and Marshall sat peacefully at the living room table, playing a party of chess. All the hectic came from the other two boys, sharing a room. Sander was frantically running around, rambling incoherent stuff. And Sam was not a help. The mohawked boy just sat on his bed, grinning like a maniac and watching his best friend having an emotional melt down. It was just too adorable to be interrupted.

“Sam, make him stop already!”, called Trend with an air of annoyance and authority.

“Sorry, Khan”, laughed Sam and shook his head. “No can do. He is having a vital crisis here.”

Trend heaved a long sigh and stood. Moments later and Trend and Marshall came to stand in the door-frame of the bedroom Sam and Sander shared. By the looks of it, Sander's wardrobe had heavily vomited onto the ground, because all of his clothes were scattered all over the place.

“What in the world?”, grunted Trend and shook his head.

“Tomorrow is Friday!”, exclaimed Sander with large, worried eyes.

“Indeed a reason for all this chaos”, nodded Trend sarcastically.

“Dude”, chuckled Sam, his dark eyes sparkling mischievously. “We're going out. Did you forget? The riding excursion that I asked Principal Castellan's permission for. We're going to the beach, which means no sucky school uniform. Also, the pretty, little thing Sander keeps fawning over will be there too. So now he is having a total freak out.”

Trend nodded stiffly, trying not to shudder. Right. Tomorrow, he would have to ride. He _hated_ horses. He had a phobia going on there. But what else was he supposed to do? Derek was attending the school now and that nuisance had been too touchy-feely with his Sammy during the weekends last year anyway, but now that they were actually able to see each other every day? And there was no way Trend would let the other boy have what was rightfully supposed to be his. Namely Sam. So since horses were Sam's passion, Trend tried to get some extra credits – and special time with Sam – by joining the riding club. Even though that meant... riding. And horses. Urgh.

“Why?”, asked Trend, looking mildly annoyed. “You met the boy three days ago. What's so special about him? He's just another cute face in a mass of cute faces.”

“No, it's different!”, huffed Sander, staring at him as though the blonde hast just insulted his mother or something like that (not that Trend would ever dare say something bad about Coach Rodriguez, that woman was not leading the martial arts team for the fun of it, she was _dangerous_ ). “I've known him for like a year now! I mean, our sisters are both in the martial arts club, they had competitions last year too and I... I saw him there and he was the cutest thing ever when he was cheering for his sister, all rosy-cheeked and wide-eyed. A—And now I can actually _talk_ to him. I'm nervous.”

“So... let me get this straight”, snorted Sam amused. “You have been staring at the kid dreamily for a year now, but you never had the guts to actually talk to him? What in the world is wrong with you? If you like him, then go to him and tell him, or at least start a conversation, really!”

“That's easier said than done”, muttered Sander with a slight blush. “When we were watching our sisters' competitions, our families were there too. And his dad is _scary_. He got this whole mafia vibe going on. I think he'd behead me if I'd say something wrong to his son. And you know I'm no good with words... So... H—How do I make him like me?”

Even Trend and Marshall had pity with him at this point, so the three jocks went to help their captain picking out the perfect outfit to impress Donny di Angelo.

 

/Friday\

 

Friday afternoon was supposed to be Derek's time to lean back and relax. Donny would be out riding, which meant he had the room to himself, which meant he could peacefully jerk off while thinking of Sammy and that perfect bubble-butt of his without awkwardness. But of course the little nuisance had to have a drama moment before going.

“Why are you hyperventilating?”, groaned Derek annoyed and sat up.

“Because I'll be going away, with all those people! I mean, my sister and my cousin are there too, but there are also all those strangers!”, exclaimed Donny frustrated, pulling his hair.

“And Sander”, chimed Derek mischievously as he got up and checked Donny's wardrobe. “You're nervous because you don't know how to act around a guy you fancy. Urgh, your wardrobe sucks. Tomorrow, we're going shopping. Today, you'll get some clothes from me.”

“Why are you doing this?”, asked Donny wearily while getting changed.

“Because you're good entertainment”, shrugged Derek. “Also, if I help Sam's best friend getting laid, that'll give me some extra credits with Sam. So you better be good to Sander.”

“You are a horrible person!”, exclaimed Donny wide-eyed and flustered.

“Yeah, yeah, nothing new there. Ah. Perfect. Now get going”, ordered Derek amused.

Donny yelped as Derek smacked his ass in encouragement. What had he done to deserve such a horrible, horrible roommate? Herc was leaning against the couch, arms crossed over his chest.

“You ready? Can we go now?”, asked the blonde with one cocked eyebrow.

Donny just nodded, still blushing. Herc Grace led the way until they reached the stables and once inside, all of Donny's nervousness seemed to vanish into thin air. Because the most majestic beings ever stood in front of him. Eight beautiful, magnificent horses. Herc abandoned him for the sake of petting a wild looking black horse. Thea already sat on top of a peanut-colored handsome stallion, waving him briefly in greeting. The other jocks stood close to Herc and his horse – Trend, looking uncomfortable next to a gray stallion, Sam looking completely in love with his dark, brown mare and Sander smiling brightly at his own white stallion. And then there were Donny's sister and cousin. He knew the names of their horses from last year and the stuff they had told during family meetings. Nico was riding Arion, who used to be her mother's horse when Hazel had attended Olympus High, and albeit his age, he was still the fastest sprinter around. And Bianca had taken their mother's former companion, Blackjack. He had been a very young and wild thing back in the days of Percy, but now he was more settled, easier to handle.

“Come here, Donny. I want to introduce you to someone special”, smiled Bianca. “This is Blackjack, mom's old friend. Blacky, this is Donny, he's Percy's foal too. And Donny, this is... if you want, your companion, Shadowchaser. He's Blackjack's foal and a little shy himself.”

A beautiful pitch-black stallion peeked out from behind Blackjack, looking over at Donny curiously. Donny instantly fell in love. Smiling brilliantly, he walked over to Shadowchaser, caressing the horse's mane tenderly. Shadowchaser turned toward Blackjack, as though he was asking his dad if it was okay. Blackjack gave a whine and nudged his foal.

“So, little di Angelo”, grinned Sam as he sat on top of his own horse, patting her. “This pretty lady is Fighter. She's the boss, just so you know. You seem to be getting acquired with Shadow. Huh, means I owe you money, BM. You did chose the right horse for him, damn. Anyway, we're going to ride through the forest and from there on toward the beach, where we'll take a break and a swim.”

Donny looked mortified at the prospect of swimming. Being half-naked with all those well-trained jocks. They were going to have a good laugh with his scrawny body, compared to them. Still, the temptation of riding with Shadowchaser was too great to pass.

They were taking it slow through the woods, more in a chatting tempo. Donny learned the names of the other horses and a little more about their riders. His sister Bianca and Blackjack were riding in a line with Herc and Tempest, as well as Thea and Nightowl. It seemed that Thea and Herc were dating and that Thea was also friends with Donny's sister, so the three of them were busy talking about their summers. Sam and his 'pretty lady' Fighter had dashed off in a race with Nico and Arion practically as soon as they left the forest and reached a endless looking meadow. It seemed Sam was very competitive and Nico had never been one to bow down from a challenge either. Then there was Trend, who looked so uncomfortable that Donny feared he'd fall off his gray horse soon. And of course there was also Sander. He had been riding with Sam and Trend before, but now that Sam was off, Trend was too busy being highly concentrated on not falling off the horse, so Sander had decided to fall back some and check on Donny, who was riding on his own.

“You like him?”, asked Sander, waving into Shadow's general direction.

“Yes, he's amazing”, smiled Donny brightly and patted Shadow's side. “Aren't you, pretty boy?”

Sander's stallion whined in agreement at that, causing Donny to blink a little. “Oh. Uhm, Trick – that's my friend here, Trickster – he's really having a thing for Shadow. They're like attached by the flank or something like that. It's totally cool. I like picturing that they're plotting world domination together. You know, horses ruling over humans and such.”

“You're weird”, laughed Donny with a soft smile. “But that's sweet.”

“So... uhm... Donny... What's your name?”, asked Sander awkwardly after a moment.

“My name is Donny”, chuckled Donny, cocking one eyebrow.

“No, I mean, your name isn't _really_ Donny, that's like a nickname, right? So is it like... Donald? Or Donatello, because your dad is Italian, or... uhm... well, I don't know?”, inquired Sander curiously.

Donny blushed embarrassed and leaned in some, whispering so no one else could hear him. “It's Hades Poseidon. You know, Posei _don_ , so Donny. My parents named me after my grandfathers.”

“Weird names”, grinned Sander before faltering. “Uhm, I didn't mean it like that!”

“No, it's alright”, laughed Donny and shook his head. “I don't like it much either. But, well, that's why I go by Donny. Also, I try not to scream it off the hills that I'm the grandson of Poseidon Jackson. Yeah, my mom is that 'scandal' from fifteen years ago.”

Sander fell silent. He didn't particularly remember, he had barely been born back then after all, but now he knew that President Jackson had, after the end of his political career, admitted to having an illegitimate son that he had conceived with a back then high school student. It had been a total scandal, but the former president had wished to attend his illegitimate son's wedding without any weird speculations so he had held a press conference before – even though all his advisers had told him not to. Not that he had cared. He had said that he wasn't the president any longer, he was a regular, retired man and as such, he wanted to enjoy his family. All of his family. Which was all nice and stuff, but what was Sander supposed to say  _now_ ? It surely wasn't a topic their family liked to discuss and now things were awkward. Sander had been right, he wasn't good at talking.

“So... What's the matter with blondie over there? He looks ready to puke”, prompted Donny.

Sander was grateful for the change of topic and turned to look at Trend. “Oh. He hates horses.”

“Then why is he in the Riding Club?”, questioned Donny ridiculed.

“Because he really wants to impress Sam”, replied Sander matter-of-factly. “He had been trying to do that the whole past since since we three got into this school and into the same dorm. Trend spends like all his time staring at Sam. But Sam just... doesn't notice. And then there's Derek, who has been Sam's best friend since forever and he has been living like in the next town, so he came over practically every weekend and Trend would get really jealous, but now that Derek is actually at this school, Trend figured he'd need to spend even more time with Sam to make sure that Sam would in the end chose him over Derek. And then there is the matter of Sam's stalker ex boyfriend Leroy, the captain of the hockey team. They had been dating briefly last year, but Sam ended it. I don't know why, but I'm glad he did, because Sam was looking really sad and all while they were together. He's better now. But I think that Leroy's the reason why Sam hasn't chosen between Trend and Derek yet. Like, he needs to get over that relationship first before he can start a new one, you know? And... I'm rambling. Sorry. I'm just... really eager to see the outcome of this.”

“Yeah”, nodded Donny slowly, frowning. “Me too...”

“Oh!”, exclaimed Sander, pointing ahead of them. “The beach! Huh, we're there already.”

Once they reached the beach, they climbed off their horses and prepared themselves a little resting place. It seemed the others were well-prepared. They got blankets and boxes with food out of their backpacks and shed their clothes, swimming shorts and bikinis underneath. Hercules even got a volleyball out, grinning broadly. Soon, everybody found their place. Trend and Thea were laying on the blankets, reading books and bathing in the sun. Sam and Herc were playing beach volleyball against Bianca Maria and Nico. And then there was Sander. Donny kept glancing over at the brunette self-consciously. He had no idea why the jock was in the water with him, instead of with his friends. It made Donny nervous and uncomfortable.

“Everything alright, Donny? You don't look well”, asked Sander concerned. “Y—You don't have a heat stroke or something like that, right? Because I totally have no idea how to deal with that!”

That in return made Donny smile again. The brunette was just too sweet to be true.

“No. I'm fine. Just... wondering why you're not with your friends”, admitted Donny.

Sander frowned confused and tilted his head. “But you're my friend now too. And theirs. Sam wouldn't be so nice to you if you weren't. We're friends now, dude.”

Donny stared at him a little scandalized. It wasn't that easy. They couldn't just up and decide that he was their friend! Right? This boy would be the end of him, that much was for sure.

“Come on”, grinned Sander broadly. “I'll race you to the grotto!”

He pointed vaguely into a direction and dashed off. Donny would not be held responsible if Sander got lost or eaten by sharks or drowned, so he rather swam after Sander. Soon enough, he had surpassed the football player and spotted the grotto Sander had mentioned. Taking a deep breath, Donny dove to fit through the – on the surface – small entrance. It was wider underneath the water. He gasped surprised as he climbed up into the grotto. It was serene and rather large, with a  _couch_ – albeit an inflatable, but a couch nonetheless – and coolers with beer.

“It's our secret hide-out. We sometimes come here to celebrate after a football game”, grinned Sander, panting hard as he climbed up after Donny. “You're a fast swimmer. Really fast.”

“I like water”, shrugged Donny, still looking around. “This place is pretty cool.”

“I know! It's why I wanted to show you!”, exclaimed Sander with the broadest grin.

“I still don't get it”, sighed Donny and shook his head. “Why?”

“Because... Well... You're... I... I like you”, mumbled Sander and blushed. “You're cute and witty and gorgeous and when you smile, I get that bubbly feeling in my belly and I have to smile too.”

Donny stared at him as though he was a ghost, completely shocked. And then he blushed too, brighter than ever before in his entire life. Why would the handsome jock say something like that?

“Y—You like me? Like-like?”, asked Donny unsure and took a step back.

“Uhu”, nodded Sander, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Look, I get it if you're not gay or if you don't like me, b—but Sam said I should tell you because telling would clear things up. A—And I hoped that maybe, perhaps, you'd give me a chance and would maybe consider going on a date. With me. Together. Like, as a couple... T—To see if, you know, you'd like me back. Maybe.”

“Oh my god, how can you be that adorable?”, said Donny's mouth without his consent.

He blushed some more and clapped one hand over his mouth to stop it from saying more embarrassing things. But it seemed to have been the right thing to say because Sander's face lit up.

“Does that mean you like me too?”, asked Sander innocently.

“Well, I don't know”, shrugged Donny embarrassed. “I mean, I like looking at you because you're really hot. And I didn't mean to say _that_. And I like talking to you, but I don't even know you.”

“So... you could, you know, go on that date with me and see. Get to know me and maybe get to like me?”, offered Sander with the most pleading puppy-eyes Donny had ever seen. “Please?”

“Uhm... I... Okay”, agreed Donny reluctantly, feeling as though his head should explode.

“Awesome!”, exclaimed Sander enthusiastically and grabbed Donny around the waist, lifting him up and whirling him around. “I promise, I'll be a real gentleman and all!”

This boy definitely was the sweetest guy on this planet, decided Donny in that moment. When Sander put Donny back down, both boys realized that their nearly naked, wet bodies were pressed close together, feeling the heat of the other. Donny lifted his gaze up from Sander's strong chest (a very difficult task, because it was all wet and glittery and firm) to look into the hazel eyes. His blush came back to life, his lips parting as short pants left them nervously. Sander licked his own lips, slowly leaning down more and more. Until their lips met in a chaste, tender kiss and Donny felt as though his knees would give in any moment. Luckily enough, Sander's extremely delicious arms were wrapped around his waist still, holding him upright. It was nothing like how he had pictured his first kiss. It wasn't sloppy, wet and dysfunctional, no, it was as though they had done this countless times with each other. It was simply perfect.

“So, if the two of you are finished swapping spit, we wanted to get back to school. A storm is coming”, interrupted Sam's teasing voice from the grotto's entrance. “Move your lazy asses.”

The two kissing boys bolted apart, blushing furiously. Sam just snickered and dove down to go.

 

/Saturday\

 

Their first date was a total disaster. Sander had wanted to go down to the city, to watch a movie with Donny. Half way there it started to rain as though the next Flood was kicking in and they should rescue all animals in pairs. So by the time they reached the cinema, they were both soaked to the bone. The cinema was closed for renovation. So since they were dripping wet anyway, they decided to just turn around and return to school. Once back there, they parted ways to take warm showers and change into dry clothes. As Donny exited the bathroom again, Derek was already lingering on the couch, smirking wickedly and curiously at him.

“So, how was the first date with Prince Charming?”, inquired Derek.

“We wanted to take a walk to the next town. It started raining. We wanted to watch a movie. The cinema is closed for renovations. Oh, and on the way back, I slipped in the mud and ruined my favorite pair of pants for good”, replied Donny.

“Oh...”, nodded Derek slowly. “I'm sorry. Sounds like a total disaster.”

“No! It was perfect!”, exclaimed Donny and smiled brightly. “On our way to the cinema, we were literally dancing in the rain at one point and the rest of the walk, we talked. Like, about his family and his friends and how the football team is doing and he asked me about my siblings and what I like doing. We were walking for so long due to the bad weather that I feel as though I know every detail about his life now. And when I slipped in the mud, he just... He joined me. We actually had fun, sliding down the hill on our butts. It was amazing. I've never laughed more in my entire life. And he said that we'd meet in the little café and he'd invite me to a hot chocolate to get warm again. So... You need to help me find the _perfect_ outfit right now. Again.”

Derek snorted amused and rolled his eyes. Those two morons were a match made in heaven. He still obeyed and helped Donny picking out the perfect outfit that would look hot and still keep him warm (because otherwise he would so catch a cold by the end of the day).

Donny arrived at the café right on time. Because Sander already stood there, wringing his hands nervously, his eyes darting around hopefully. Relief lit up his face with a bright smile when his eyes landed on Donny. He hugged the half-Italian tightly and motioned to a table.

“I was half afraid that you wouldn't come. I mean... the rain and then the closed cinema and the mud, I thought it was just too much, that you'd take it as a bad omen...”, rambled Sander.

“I really enjoyed it”, assured Donny with a small, genuine smile. “I had fun with you.”

“Really?”, asked Sander relieved and with a happy smile. “That's good! Because I really like spending time with you. It was awesome, even though nothing went how I planned it...”

“It doesn't always have to be perfect to be perfect”, grinned Donny amused.

 

/break\

 

It was middle October when Donny found himself in Danny's office, like every Thursday. Even though he had been reluctant about it at first, it was a great replacement for his mom-time he normally had at the end of the day, telling Percy all about his day. Because Derek didn't have the nerve to sit through it every night – and he also didn't need the chocolate every night, because that would only ruin his figure and he could not have that. So Donny talked to Danny about what happened in his life. And Danny was a great listener, she had even faked surprise when Donny had _finally_ realized that he was actually friends with Derek, Herc, Sam and the others. And she was very supportive of his relationship with Sander, always remembering when Donny had mentioned having a date planned for later that week so she would ask on the next meeting how it went.

“So, you and Sander, you're now officially a couple?”, asked Danny amused.

Donny had refused to label it for a while now, but they had been seeing each other for a month, going on dates every Saturday when they could leave the school properties. They were holding hands and kissing and making out. So yes, he had reached the point where he could admit that he obviously, aside from gaining a ton of friends, also had gotten himself a boyfriend.

“Yeah, it... seems that way”, nodded Donny and blushed. “Wow. I have a boyfriend.”

“You do”, laughed Danny with dancing eyes. “Congratulations on that. And... How is that friend of yours doing? Your roommate, Derek. When we first talked, you had been going on about him and his obsession with one of the football players, but you haven't been mentioning that in the past two meetings, it makes me wonder... Are you fighting with Derek? Not talking?”

“No, that's not it”, sighed Donny and shook his head. “It's just... Derek has a boyfriend.”

“Huh? So he finally asked that other friend of yours out?”, inquired Danny interested.

“No”, sighed Donny, this time more gravely. “He's dating Trend. You know, the boy he had been competing with for Sam's attention. After fighting for so long, they decided on a truce of sorts. Since both are each other's biggest rival for Sam's affection, they decided to just... take each other out of the competition, so to speak. They're having way too loud and aggressive sex. All the time. But since Sam hadn't made any indications as to who he liked better and both are very sexually frustrated, they figured this would be a good solution. I disagree, because most of the time, I get kicked out of our bedroom so they can have obnoxiously loud sex! It's not fair! And gross!”

And much to his shock, he actually found himself interested in the affairs of others.

 

/break\

 

Donny and Derek sat next to each other on the bleachers, cheering loudly. It had taken Donny some getting used to that Derek was still rather cheering for Sam than for his boyfriend Trend. But after weeks of listening to the two of them going at it aggressively and insulting each other on the way, Donny had accepted their relationship with all its weirdness, but only for the sake of Derek. Because as much as it horrified Donny, he actually cherished his friendship with Derek.

Training ended and their six favorite jocks – Sander, Sam, Trend, Marshall, Herc and Loki – ran up to them. Herc, Marshall, Loki and Sam collapsed exhausted on the ground in front of Derek and Donny, in a half circle. Trend sat down demandingly next to Derek, pulling the brunette aggressively onto his lap and kissed him in a bruising manner. It always looked more like a fight than a kiss when they did that. No, Donny preferred his tame, adorable Sander. He smiled proudly at the quarterback and straddled Sander's lap, arms around the broad neck.

“You did so good, my handsome hero”, whispered Donny against his lips.

“Thank you”, smiled Sander brightly, his hands on Donny's smaller back. “I'm sure I only did so good because you were there to cheer me on. You're my lucky charm, Donny.”

“You two are so disgustingly cute. Sometimes I feel as though you're trying to make up for the lack of cuteness involved in all of... _that_ ”, snorted Sam, waving into the direction of Trend and Derek.

“You're really not a big fan of that pairing”, snorted Herc amused.

“Pairing? Really? Stop spending so much time with your yaoi-obsessed girlfriend”, grunted Sam.

“So... Halloween is coming up...”, drawled Sander, not minding his friends.

“Uhu”, nodded Donny, wondering what his boyfriend was getting at.

“A—And Stella Ribeiro has moved heaven and hell to put a Halloween costume ball together... And I was kind of wondering if maybe you want to go there with me, together”, mumbled Sander.

“You're so sweet”, smiled Donny softly, kissing Sander tenderly. “Of course I will. Why shouldn't I want to go there with my boyfriend? Who else am I supposed to go with?”

“S—So... I'm your boyfriend? Really-officially?”, asked Sander, sounding nearly shy.

Right. Donny blushed a little in embarrassment. He had discussed the topic with Danny a few days ago, but he hadn't found the right time and place to tell Sander yet. So far, they had been seeing each other and kissing, but not exactly declared themselves boyfriends.

“Yes”, nodded Donny firmly, kissing Sander once more. “You're my boyfriend. And only mine.”

“Good”, grinned the brunette pleased, tracing Donny's jawline with his lips. “Because I don't want any other boyfriend. I just want you. I really l—like you. A lot.”

Sander face lit up and Donny stared at him wearily. They were only dating for a few weeks now. They were  _not_ at the point of 'I love you's. But it seemed Sander knew that too, because now he was nervously biting his lips, trying to figure out how to cover up his mistake.

“It's alright, San”, smiled Donny soothingly, trailing kisses along Sander's neck.

 

/break\

 

It was a week later that Donny tried to straighten his collar. Which was hard, what with that high collar. But the collar came with the cape and the elusive, long-sleeves shirt with all the frills. Grinning slightly, he checked his fake fangs in the mirror. Sat perfect.

“Hey, Count Don-ular! Come and help me with my costume, will you?!”, ordered Derek.

“Sure! Say, what is your costume any... oh. Oh my gosh!”

Donny squealed high-pitched in delight when he saw Derek, glaring down at his bow-tie. The long brown hair was styled back, he was wearing exactly the right suit – and even a fez!

“Yes, I'm a Doctor. Now help me with this blasted, really not cool bow-tie!”, groaned Derek.

“Why are you Matt Smith?”, asked Donny while tying the bow-tie.

“Because Trend called dibs on David Tennant”, pouted Derek with a heated glare. “But it's okay.”

“Okay, let me rephrase my question. Why are you both dressing up as Doctors from the Silver Age?”, questioned Donny curiously. “Not that I don't appreciate it...”

Donny was a big fan of Doctor Who – inherited by his mother who used to watch reruns of the Golden Age with his own mother, Sally Blofis. And just like them, Percy had introduced Donny to the awesomeness that was Doctor Who. He knew that Sam too was a total Whovian, especially obsessed with the Silver Age, aka the 2005 relaunch of the show. So Donny assumed it had something to do with Sam, just like about everything Derek and Trend did. It was adorable.

“So... What? Is Sam Rose Tyler or River Song?”, snorted Donny amused.

“Just sit and wait”, grinned Derek mischievously. “What about you and Sander?”

“Just sit and wait”, chimed Donny equally mischievous. “There. All ready and perfect.”

“Thanks”, smiled Derek, checking himself in the mirror. “Damn, I'm hot. I'd totally have sex with me. Oh! Speaking of sex... Have you and Sander done the deed yet?”

Derek tilted his head curiously and walked back to their living room to sit down on the couch. A beet red Donny followed him and curled together on the opposite end of the couch.

“N—No”, whispered the half-Italian, shaking his head wildly. “We've only been dating for so short! I'm not going to have sex with him before I know that I _love_ him!”

Derek stared at him as though he had just declared himself a pink elephant in a tutu. “Weirdo. Sex is the best part of being in a relationship. Besides, didn't your relationship start out with sexual attraction? You know, all that drooling you did there. Why not satisfy that urge.”

“I am _not_ going to have sex with him before I know that I definitely, positively love him!”

“That is good to know. So, Sander, better make that vampire fall in love with you soon.”

Donny turned around to glare wide-eyed at a cheeky grinning Sam who was patting Sander's back. But his glare melted when he saw the costumes of the boys. There was Trend, as promised dressed as David Tennant's Doctor, his hair dyed the appropriate brown for the occasion (which looked really weird, considering he was a natural blonde and this was just... too dark in Donny's eyes). And Sam. Sam, as Captain Jack Harkness, with the coat and the smirk and the dark dyed hair. Donny had to bite his lips to keep from giggling in delight. But the best costume, hands down, had Marshall, who was wearing a cardboard box, painted blue and with all the necessary signs to signal this to be the TARDIS. He was also wearing a tiny hat, looking like the lamp on top of the TARDIS. It was obvious that he was only doing this to humor his friends, which made it all the more adorable. But Donny couldn't dwell on the Whovians much longer, because there was his Sander. With puppy ears and yellow contact lenses and a fluffy tail and furry gloves.

“You are the most adorable werewolf ever!”, yelped Donny and jumped his boyfriend.

“I was aiming for dangerous...”, complained Sander with a pout.

“Yeah... No”, giggled Donny delighted and kissed his nose. “Gosh, you look so cute!”

“Can we go now? I don't want to miss the party just because you had to make out first”, grunted Derek and took confidently Sam's arm, trapping the mohawked boy in the middle between Derek and Trend. “Loki said he'd spike the punch, so let's get wasted.”

“Alons-y!”, grinned Donny and led the group while hanging off Sander's arms.

“That is Trend's text! Don't cross the fandoms!”, complained Sam.

The six friends made they way to the great hall where everything was perfectly decorated with a precision Donny really only expected from Stella. She had been hyping this thing for weeks now and she really had done a great job. Something Donny admired about her, she knew what she wanted and she knew how to get it. Dressed as Disney's Sleeping Beauty, she stood on the stage and said some welcoming words just as the boys entered. It wasn't hard to spot Loki, because he was dressed as, duh, Marvel's Loki. Though Donny had to admit, he was impressed what accuracy he had put into the costume. Herc next to him was dressed as the fitting Thor.

“So... Does that mean Thea is dressed as that... chick from Thor?”, asked Donny curiously as they reached the other two jocks. “You know, as your girlfriend and all...”

“What fun is there in being the damsel in distress love interest chick that basically no one cares about?”, huffed Thea offended as she joined them. “I want to be a hero myself.”

At least she and Blance fit the theme of their boyfriends' costumes – they were both dressed as heroines. Just from the wrong franchise. Thea was dressed as Jean Grey and Blance as Emma Frost.

“You two look _hot_ ”, stated Sam in awe, earning some weird looks. “What? I'm gay, not blind.”

After that, the group more or less parted ways. The couples were too busy devouring their respective partners to pay all that much attention to others. Trend and Derek had started to fight over who would get to dance with Sam first, ending in the so far most aggressive make-out session Donny had ever witnessed. Sander all the while was swaying him on the dance-floor like a prince his princess. With all his usual clumsiness, Donny wouldn't have pecked him for a dancer.

“You look really handsome”, grinned Sander, staring down at Donny with soft eyes.

“Thank you”, smiled Donny softly, kissing his boyfriend.

“Just saying the truth”, chimed Sander, grinning broadly and delighted.

“No, not for the compliment, for calling me handsome and not pretty. Everyone always calls me something girly”, sighed Donny with a half-smile. “So... thanks for calling me handsome.”

“Well, you can be very pretty and beautiful too, but in that wicked evil vampire outfit, you look totally handsome and not cute”, nodded Sander, caressing Donny's curls.

Donny had a blast. Him and Sander danced until their feet hurt before they retired to ravish all the weird looking yet delicious tasting snacks Stella had organized for the night. They sat together with Marshall, Herc and Loki (who had been ditched by their girlfriends in favor of having some girl-time with their friends). After a little while, even Cally and Bianca Maria joined them, much to Donny's delight. He felt as though he hadn't seen his big sister in a while. But he had his gardening club, she had her martial arts club, she had her own friends, he had his own friends, they were in different grades so they didn't share any classes and now with Sander, Donny had even less time. Though in a way, it felt good not to cling to her like to a life-line anymore.

“What in the world are you two dressed up as?”, asked Herc skeptically.

“I'm Maleficent”, grunted Cally and rolled her eyes. “And Bia is the Wicked Witch from Oz.”

“That explains the bad skin complexion”, grinned Loki teasingly.

The two green painted girls huffed irritated at that and sat down, glaring at Loki and Herc while starting a conversation with Marshall and Sander, Donny only occasionally nodding. He was feeling drowsy, the alcohol level a little too high for the light-weight.

“San?”, mumbled Donny, tugging on Sander's sleeve. “I'll step outside and get some fresh air.”

“You want me to come with you?”, asked Sander concerned, one hand on Donny's lower back.

“Naw, you enjoy fanboying over your sister”, teased Donny, kissing Sander softly. “I'm fine.”

Yawning widely, Donny left through the high windows to get outside. The night air was calm and fresh, very good for his dizziness. With his hands in his pockets, he started walking a little away from the party, enjoying how calming this was. At least until he heard gasped whimpers. Frowning concerned, he hurried his steps. What he found was  _not_ what he had expected, even though he wasn't sure what he had expected. Jones, the captain of the hockey team, was leaning over Sam, the mohawked boy pinned to a tree by his wrists. Sam was not weak, but Jones was a muscle-packed giant. Sam whimpered again, looking more than uncomfortable under the administrations. So this was not the happy reunion of two former lovers. More like a drunken asshole taking advantage of his equally drunk ex boyfriend, who was not having any fun at all. Donny panicked. He had to help his friend, but he was way too weak to take someone like Leroy Jones on. So he did the only thing he could think of, he turned around and ran off back to the school. Much to his relief, Sander, Marshall, Trend and Derek were outside. By the looks of it, they were looking for something.

“Donny! There you are!”, exclaimed Sander relieved. “You've been gone so long, I got worried.”

“Yeah. And Sam had been gone even longer”, pouted Derek before glaring over at Trend. “It's all _his_ fault, distracting me from my Sammy. He surely felt neglected! That's why he left!”

“Can you cut the drama for a moment and let me say something?”, interrupted Donny fiercely. “Sam is having problems, okay? H—He's with Leroy. And he's not happy.”

The others didn't really understand what Donny meant by that, but they followed him nonetheless. Only as they reached the outskirts of the forest did the other boys understand. And they grew angry. Marshall, Sander and Trend pried Leroy off their friend and Donny tried not to see what they did afterward, instead he went to check on Sam, together with Derek.

“Sammy? Are you alright?”, asked Derek concerned, caressing the other boy's tear-strained cheeks.

“Y—Yeah, I'm fine”, nodded Sam stiffly, rubbing his eyes and cheeks to get rid of the tears.

“Come on, let's get you back to your dorm”, suggested Donny softly.

Donny and Derek supported Sam from either side, helping the mohawked boy up. It took them longer to get back to the dorms than usual because Sam was really wobbly on his feet and the two boys supporting him were not exactly the strongest. But they managed. While Derek sat Sam down on the couch and wrapped him into a blanket, Donny went to make a nice, calming tea. Once the tea was ready, the others caught up to them and burst into the room.

“What in the world happened? What did Jones do to you? Are you alright?”, rambled Sander.

Marshall helped Donny carrying the tea and the cups over to the living room while Trend took the seat on Sam's free side (the other obviously occupied by Derek). Sander, the worried best friend he was, knelt in front of Sam, looking up at him like a kicked puppy (the effect ten times as strong due to his Halloween costume). But Sam just sat there, folded as small as possible. It freaked Donny out, because the way he had gotten to know Sam, the brunette was easy going, loud and present. When he was in the room, people knew he was there, because he was good at becoming the center of attention – but right now, he was trying to be invisible.

“So... that was your ex, right?”, asked Donny slowly. “And I... guess he's always been like that? So... that's the reason why you broke up with him, right?”

“He... doesn't take no for an answer”, shrugged Sam, his arms tightly wrapped around his legs.

Derek made a distressed sound at that and wrapped his own arms tightly around Sam's waist, snuggling up to the mohawked boy as good as possible, making sure his Sammy was right now here and safe. Trend had one arm around Sam's shoulders, his fingers playing with Sam's hair.

“I think... today had been eventful enough. How about we go to bed. You look tired, Sam”, suggested Donny softly. “Get a shower and sleep some.”

But before he could leave, Derek caught up with him and pushed Sander along. “I am not leaving Sam's side. I'll take Sander's bed tonight. You, take Sander with you. He's sleeping over.”

Both Sander and Donny blushed brightly at that, but they saw the honest worry in Derek's eyes. Sander nodded slowly, laying one arm around Donny's waist and steering him out of the dorm. The young couple didn't speak a word on the way, only once they were inside did Donny speak up.

“Come on, I'll take care of you”, whispered Donny softly, tugging Sander into the bathroom.

The brunette was horribly flustered at that, but only when Donny took out the first-aid kit did he realize that  _that_ was not what Donny had meant. The half-Italian was disinfecting Sander's bleeding knuckles with tender hands. Sander hadn't even noticed that they were bleeding.

“What... What are we going to do now?”, asked Sander worried.

“Why are you asking me?”, sighed Donny and shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“Because you're the smart one in our relationship”, pointed Sander out. “Well... You're also the looks... What am I bringing into this relationship anyway...?”

“You're the cute-factor”, smiled Donny slightly and kissed the corner of Sander's mouth. “And obviously also the muscles. Do... Do you think Leroy will stay away from Sam now?”

“Not sure”, shrugged Sander with a thoughtful frown. “But I really doubt that Derek and Trend will let Sam out of their sight ever again, so I guess Sam will be safe for now...?”

“You were... really heroic today”, whispered Donny, kissing along Sander's jawline and neck.

“He's my best friend. Of course I'd do everything to help him”, huffed Sander, rosy around the nose.

“Let's go to bed, mio eroe”, grinned Donny, interlacing his fingers with Sander's.

Still, both boys were brightly red-faced as they undressed, down to their boxers. Donny grabbed one of his night-shirts, looking thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head. His clothes would  _never_ fit Sander. Turning around, he decided that even if they'd fit, Sander wouldn't get any. In fact, maybe he should also start hiding Sander's shirts. Licking his lips, Donny took the sight of a half-naked Sander in. Even though they went swimming together all the time, it was still a sight to behold. Especially since Sander had forgotten to take the fake dog-ears off. So cute!

Crawling into his own bed, Donny stared curiously at Sander. The brunette looked a little lost.

“Are you coming to bed or do you plan on sleeping while standing?”, questioned Donny.

“I can sleep in the bed with you?”, asked Sander with wide, hopeful eyes.

“Only if you're a good boy and don't chew my shoes”, laughed Donny, catching himself when he saw the confusion on his boyfriend's face. “Sorry. You're just... still wearing the dog-ears.”

Sander groaned and took them off, looking mildly embarrassed. And then he sneaked under the covers, right next to his Donny. Strong arms wound around Donny's waist, pulling him close so hi head was resting on that muscular, delicious chest. Donny hummed contently, caressing his boyfriend's torso tenderly, tracing the six-pack and the perky nipples.

“Mine”, whispered Donny possessively, licking his lips. “All mine...”

“Only if you're all mine too”, hummed Sander, kissing the top of Donny's head.

“All yours”, promised Donny with a soft smile, leaning up to kiss Sander properly. “Good night.”

“Good night”, whispered Sander with a dopey grin.

They fell asleep arm in arm, cuddled up closely.

 

/break\

 

Weeks passed and true to Sander's assumption, Sam could never be found without either Derek or Trend at his side. Most of the time both of them. Whenever Derek was not with Sam – like, during the night when he was in their own dorm – he had that content grin going on and was humming.

“Okay, enough is enough!”, grunted Donny one night, interrupting their movie. “You are going to tell me _right now_ what in the world is going on between you, Trend and Sam. I mean... I _know_ you and Trend are still having sex. I can freaking hear you most of the time. But you fight less.”

“Yeah, I mean, it is kind of a uniting cause to keep our Sammy safe”, nodded Derek.

“Hah!”, exclaimed Donny, pointing an accusing finger. “You said 'our', not 'my'.”

“It's not like anything is going on, okay?”, sighed Derek, looking displeased. “I just... Trend and I, we think that, for now, it's more important to make Sammy feel safe than to make him feel like a trophy we're fighting about. So for the first time, we're actually having a proper truce.”

“I'm glad to hear that”, grinned Donny, honestly relieved.

“So... How's it going with Sander? I mean, you've been going steady as boyfriends for a month now, but you still haven't had sex yet and I doubt either of you said the big l-word”, prompted Derek. “I mean, have you told... your parents about him yet?”

“Uhm... Well...”, drawled Donny and blushed. “I figured I'd tell them when they come over next week. I mean, it's Thanksgiving break and they're picking Bia and me up, so I thought then they could meet Sander in person then. Would be better than over phone and all...”

“Good plan”, agreed Derek thoughtful. “So you won't spend the break at school...?”

“No”, huffed Donny ridiculed, before pausing. “Wait. You're staying at school? Over Thanksgiving? W—Why would you do that? What about your parents?”

“I'm British, honey. You haven't noticed that yet?”, asked Derek with a deadpan, for once laying heavy on his otherwise barely noticeable British accent. “My parents moved here only three years ago, for work. They're busy, all the time and honestly, they don't care much for an American holiday, so we don't celebrate it. And since they're busy anyway, I just stay here.”

The two fell silent after that. Donny was a little sad to hear that – less because they missed out on a big celebration, but more so because Derek would be stuck in the school instead of getting to spend time with his family. So Donny was incredibly grateful for the persistent knocking. Getting up, he opened the door, just to nearly be trampled by Sander, Sam, Trend and Marshall.

“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?”, asked Donny, his arms already around Sander's neck.

“We were talking about our Thanksgiving plans and then I remembered that I don't even know if you have plans and if we're going to see each other at all”, replied Sander with a frown.

“I'll be in Los Angeles, with my parents and siblings”, chuckled Donny amused. “You?”

“Oh! That's good. That's not _that_ far away. So I could like... visit you”, grinned Sander broadly. “Dad planned a big Thanksgiving dinner and all, but I'm sure I could sneak away for a couple of days and visit Los Angeles, to check out the... sights.”

“Dude, your boyfriend is on no sightseeing tour of LA. Like 'And here we have our local, adorable half-Italian, next stop: Walk of Fame'!”, snorted Sam and rolled his eyes.

He took the now vacant spot on the couch, with Trend practically attached to his side. Donny smiled slightly as Sam curled together between them, his arms folded on Trend's lap, head resting on top of them, his feet in Derek's lap. The mohawked boy looked more content than Donny had ever seen him before. Marshall was getting drinks out of the fridge before joining the others, taking a seat on the armchair. Donny motioned for Sander to get comfortable on the other couch while he went to pick a film – it was obvious the others wouldn't scatter soon and they had taken in their default movie-positions. Once a DVD was in the player, Donny crawled on top of Sander, curling together comfortably. The brunette hummed pleased at that, laying his arms around his boyfriend.

“So, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?”, asked Donny curiously, looking at the others.

“My parents and me, we're staying over at my grandparents. In Canada”, replied Marshall.

“Sounds like fun”, grinned Donny amused. “Sam? Trend? Where are your families living?”

“My ma's family home is in England. So even though we really don't celebrate Thanksgiving, we still have a get-together, since my ma's a marine and she scarcely really has time off, we're celebrating that instead”, grinned Sam broadly. “My aunt and uncle and their kids are coming over too, grandpa will be loud. It's going to be fun. And they'll love Trend and Der.”

“Mh?”, grunted all other boys, looking at him funny.

“Oh. Right. Forgot to mention. You two are spending the break over at my place”, declared Sam.

“And... you just decided that?”, chuckled Trend a little amused.

“Uhu”, nodded the mohawked boy, turning some to stretch like a lazy cat. “I mean, you don't have any family, you always stay at school anyway and last year around this time, I didn't know that so I couldn't invite you over and I know that Derek's parents never have time anyway. So you two are coming with me. Ma's already made fun of me for bringing home strays.”

Donny stared curiously at Trend, but he didn't want to pry. Sander noticed and leaned in to whisper.

“Trend's parents died in a robbery, the family lawyer has been in charge of him, he's always been attending boarding schools because of that, waiting for the day he's old enough to take over his mom's firm”, explained Sander in a soft, barely audible voice.

“You two... want to come with me, right?”, asked Sam with large, begging eyes. “I mean-”

“He really has no idea, does he?”, whispered Donny into Sander's ear the same moment Derek and Trend loudly agreed. “It's kind of... sad. But also adorable to watch.”

“Uhu. I hope they figure this stuff out over Thanksgiving”, agreed Sander with a frown.

 

/break\

 

Thanksgiving rolled around and most students stood in the parking lot, with their bags packed. Donny and Bianca Maria stood with the Rodriguez family. Chris was loading the twins' bags into the van. They were living just down the hill, in the next town, so Clarisse could still live at home and work at Olympus High, since they were also having a small daughter at home. Clarisse was thankfully enough engaged in a conversation with Bia and Cally, so Donny was off the hook. It was enough that she liked to mock him and tease him during school time for being a princess.

“Donny! Donny, my precious little baby boy, oh I missed you so much!”

Donny barely had time to react before he was lifted off into his mother's arms. Percy hugged Donny as though his life depended on this very hug. Which it did, in a way. It had been the first time ever that he had been separated from his son, since Donny had always been a mommy's boy. Though Percy wouldn't have thought it would hit him that hard to be away from his son.

“Hey, mom, I missed you too”, grinned Donny, returning the hug just as fiercely.

“If you don't mind, would you hand over our son so I can get a hug too?”, asked Nico amused.

“Dad!”, exclaimed Donny, wrapping one arm around Nico's neck to hug both his parents.

“Mom, dad! There is someone _very special_ that you really have to meet”, grinned Bia mischievously as she too squeezed herself into the hug. “Isn't that right, Donny?”

Donny blushed brightly and glared at his sister. The traitor just stuck her tongue out though. Turning some, Donny wanted to look for his boyfriend, just to find Sander practically hiding behind him.

“Mom, dad. That's Sander Rodriguez. He's... my... boyfriend”, mumbled Donny nervously.

“Boyfriend, eh?”, grunted Nico with a fierce glare, staring Sander down.

“Oh my gosh! Clarisse!”, exclaimed Percy loudly. “We are so going to be in-laws!”

“Yeah”, snorted Clarisse and rolled her eyes. “Turns out panda baby junior is as much of a charmer as mommy bear. And my poor son turned into a total softy because of your brat.”

“Mom!”, complained both Sander and Donny, staring at Clarisse and Percy fiercely.

“Okay, okay. Let's end this”, sighed Nico annoyed. “Family, into the car. I want to get back home before the end of the day. Rodriguez junior, if you hurt my boy, I will hurt you and give you a nice pair of cement boots and let you take a swim, bambino.”

He laid extra heavy on the Italian accent, playing the part of the deadly mafioso, which seemed to truly scare Sander, because the boy looked unnaturally pale. Donny leaned in and kissed him.

“I'll miss you, San”, whispered Donny, tenderly caressing Sander's cheek. “We'll talk?”

“I'll visit”, nodded Sander, looking nervously at Nico. “I—If your dad doesn't kill me.”

“Don't worry, mom wouldn't let him”, assured Donny amused. “Take care, sweetheart.”

Donny climbed into the backseat of the car, sitting down next to his sister while his dad took place behind the wheel, his mom on the passenger seat. A small, happy smile spread over Donny's face.

“So... Did you bring your everything, Donny? We already prepared the papers”, sighed his dad.

“Papers? My everything?”, asked Donny confused before he understood. “No! Please don't make me leave Olympus High! I need to make sure Sam stays safe and someone has to keep Derek somewhat down to Earth and I can not possibly abandon my Sander!”

“Yes!”, exclaimed Percy and jumped in his seat. “Oh. Uhm, sorry... Your dad owes me Hawaii. We made a bet, he said you'd come back on Christmas, I said you'd learn to like Olympus High.”

“And like always, your wonderful mother was right”, chuckled Nico amused.

Percy smiled at Nico, blowing him a kiss before turning to his kids. “Now. Tell me  _everything_ .”

“Donny got a boyfriend!”, chimed Bia teasingly. “They've been dating since the end of September now, but they only became 'official' end of October. Oh! I have plenty of pictures of them on my phone. They were totally adorable on Halloween – Donny was a vampire and Sander a werewolf.”

“Oh gosh, I have to see them all!”, demanded Percy eagerly. “And he simply has to come over for dinner during the break. The rest of his family too, of course. Haven't seen Clarisse in a while...”

Bianca Maria and Donny both fist-bumped the air at that before grinning at each other. Life in high school didn't have to be a bad thing, as long as he had his sister, his boyfriend and his new friends.

 

_~*~ The End ~*~_


End file.
